In an era of instant text messages, eye-popping video games and constant soccer practice, can an outfit touting the merits of woodcraft, civic virtue and campfire sing-alongs attract today’s seen-it-all kid?

Specifically, a Latino kid who might be wrestling with questions of how and where to fit in?

The Boy Scouts of America is preparing to find out.

On the cusp of its 100th anniversary — and in the face of daunting membership declines — the organization is launching a campaign to recruit Latino youth. Denver is part of a national pilot program.

“The challenge we have is that there’s very little understanding of what Scouting is about in the Hispanic community, at least in the first- and second-generation families,” said Marcos Nava, who heads the Irving, Texas-based BSA’s Hispanic Initiatives.

Locally, the Boy Scouts’ Denver Area Council serves 60,500 youth, from Cub Scouts to older Explorers. About 9,000 of those kids are Boy Scouts.

But only 10 percent of those Boy Scouts are Latino, despite estimates that there are more than three times that number of potential recruits.

“We know if we can get kids into Scouting, they’re more likely to graduate from high school, stay out of trouble and succeed in life,” said John Cabeza, the council’s chief executive. “We want to reach a larger percentage of those young people.”

Reaching more boys is crucial for Scouting today. In the past decade, the number of Scouts overall, from fledgling Tiger Cubs to the most experienced Venturers, has declined by about 17 percent to 2.8 million. More troubling, the number of Tigers, Cubs and Webelos, important Boy Scout feeder programs, is down nearly 24 percent, according to the BSA.

There is an element of self- preservation in the initiative. Scouting has been politicized in recent years, dogged by inclusiveness controversies — especially on the heels of its 1991 ban on openly gay people serving as troop leaders.

With Latinos the fastest- growing segment of the nation’s population, recruiting from that pool helps ensure Scouting’s survival. The Denver Area Council, with 465 Boy Scout troops, is one of 37 mostly urban councils across the United States in the pilot program.

About 130,000 of the nation’s 906,000 Boy Scouts have Hispanic surnames, Nava said.

“Our goal is to have 200,000 Hispanic Scouts by the end of the year,” Nava said. “It’s a very aggressive goal, but I think we’ve put together a marketing program that’s tremendous.”

Tackling image issues

Scouting encourages youth to “follow the rugged road,” as the pitch goes. This path is just that.

“The main problem they face is the image,” said Walker McDonald of 4 Aspects, an area group that works with schools and at-risk youth to discourage truancy and gang activity. “A young kid wearing a uniform on the streets could face harassment, especially if he doesn’t have older siblings.”

For the initiative to succeed, it’s critical that Scouting partners with existing neighborhood programs, McDonald said.

“And I mean real solid grassroots programs, not United Way,” he said.

Locally, the Valores para Toda la Vida (Values for Life) program will work with churches and community groups to sell Scouting to kids and their parents, some of whom do not speak English. It starts March 21.

The BSA is hiring more bilingual and bicultural staff. A Spanish-language Scout handbook was unveiled in late 2009.

“Not every child will connect with Scouting, but we need to give them the opportunity,” said Bob Mazzuca, BSA’s CEO. “Scouting makes families stronger, and family is foremost in the Hispanic community.”

Adolescence is tough to navigate anywhere. But some Latino youth, especially ones living in neighborhoods with a gang presence or who are recent immigrants, face special challenges.

So Sergio Ruelas is cause for optimism. At 14, he has belonged to Denver’s Troop 215 for three years.

“A friend told me about it, and I went to a meeting,” Sergio said. “I liked it.”

He and his parents moved here from Guadalajara, Mexico, when he was 9. They live in the Ruby Hill neighborhood. Spanish is the household language.

Sergio has taken to Scouting. He holds the Star rank, two steps below Eagle. The things this city kid likes most: camping and hiking.

“It’s also helped me a lot in the classroom,” Sergio said. “It’s changed the way I act. I have more discipline.”

That’s the idea, Cabeza said.

“Scouting teaches a value system,” Cabeza said. “The call of Scouting to young people is to come have this great adventure and enjoy the outdoors. But while they’re having fun, we’re teaching them values parents want them to have.

“It’s a positive gang instead of a negative gang.”

Staying relevant

This isn’t the first time Scouting has responded to shifting demographics. In the mid-’70s, it reached out to inner-city youth. The early 1980s saw programs that recruited recent Southeast Asian immigrants.

Feb. 8 marks the centennial of Boy Scouting in the U.S. Scouting in Colorado is almost as old as the movement itself. A Denver council was founded in 1915, followed soon by councils across the state. The Pikes Peak Council hosted the 1960 National Scout Jamboree near Colorado Springs.

Staying relevant has been a recurring challenge. The Denver Area Council is now involved in a Scouting and Soccer program.

Denver Scout troops already have some policies in place that they hope will spur interest to new members. A “Scoutreach” program offers financial assistance through uniform programs, and “camperships” send lower-income kids to its two Scout camps.

“Our basic strategy is to reach the parents,” Cabeza said. “The parents, specifically the moms, often make the decision on what young people get involved in.”

Restaurant critic William Porter is a feature writer at The Denver Post, where he covers food, culture and people. He joined the news outlet in 1997. Before that, he spent 14 years covering politics and popular culture at The Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic. He is a native of North Carolina.